Recommendation? Buying a chef's knife for the first time!

S

Sarita

Joined
Mar 3, 2020
Messages
4
Hello everybody!

My boyfriend has his birthday in several weeks, and he really wants a chef's knife.
It's going to be his first one (I don't have any also).

Here are some that I found in my budget, would really like to get a feedback on them or a recommendation for something else.

The budget is around 70 usd (rather as less as possible because I want to get him something in addition and I don't work these days (students...))
Can order on Amazon if there's something that worth it.

I found:
1. Wusthof Gourmet 4188
2. F. Dick Superior Kullenschliff
3. F. Dick Premier Plus 7 inch chef's knife
4. Have heard recommendations about Tramontina knives. How are them?

Thanks so much!!
 
You might also consider the Tojiro DP gyuto 180mm (7 inches). It has excellent steel, western style handle and aggressive blade geometry, which makes is fun to use.

At Chefsknivestogo it's $72.
 
Welcome. I have a number of knives from the Wusthof Gourmet line and like them very much. I have much more expensive knives but frequently find myself reaching for the 8" Gourmet chef's knife. And a 6" Gourmet chef's knife that I got as a gift is my primary tool for breaking down chickens each weekend.

They're light, nimble and durable.
 
Thnks! But there are too pricy on amazon and this website doesn't ship to my country.

Twindog said:
You might also consider the Tojiro DP gyuto 180mm (7 inches). It has excellent steel, western style handle and aggressive blade geometry, which makes is fun to use.

At Chefsknivestogo it's $72.
Click to expand...
 
Eli Chaps said:
Welcome. I have a number of knives from the Wusthof Gourmet line and like them very much. I have much more expensive knives but frequently find myself reaching for the 8" Gourmet chef's knife. And a 6" Gourmet chef's knife that I got as a gift is my primary tool for breaking down chickens each weekend.

They're light, nimble and durable.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much!! might get it
 
I should note that I used that 6" chef's knife as my primary kitchen knife for a couple years and it served me well. Yes, it's a little small but still got the job done. Might make a nice a starter and let him explore what he likes without too much investment. He might already know what he wants style and size wise though. But that would bring the price down and might let you buy a sharpening stone like Norton Cyrstolon JB8 (a course or medium would be a good start).

Victorinox and Dexter Russell are others you might consider.
 
Eli Chaps said:
I should note that I used that 6" chef's knife as my primary kitchen knife for a couple years and it served me well. Yes, it's a little small but still got the job done. Might make a nice a starter and let him explore what he likes without too much investment. He might already know what he wants style and size wise though. But that would bring the price down and might let you buy a sharpening stone like Norton Cyrstolon JB8 (a course or medium would be a good start).

Victorinox and Dexter Russell are others you might consider.
Click to expand...

Thanks again!
I know that he wants more of a like santoke knife (with those "holes"), so that's what I'm looking for pretty much.. I honestly don't know
 
Wusthof had a now discontinued line that was very similar to the Gourmet line and I had the 7" Santoku in that. It was a good knife that my daughter now uses. The dimples don't work all that well but don't hurt anything either. That goes for most makers with those.
 
As a cooking enthusiast that likes good bargains, the Victorinox line of chef knives is hard to beat. For that 70 bucks you could get an 8 inch Victorinox AND a honing steel that would allow him to maintain the edge longer between sharpening.

Basically any of the mainline kitchen brands will be good for that, Victorinox Fibrox, F. Dick, Dexter Russell, Mundial and probably a couple of others I’ve forgotten.

On knives, I prefer something in the 10 inch territory, I prefer a French shape to a German shape (which means I also like gyutos), and I prefer forged but have no qualms with using stamped. I like carbon steel but that has a lot to do with it’s being really easy to sharpen and taking on some interesting patina with use.

That said, steel it before you use it and you won’t have to sharpen it as often unless you damage the edge.

The only real downside to any of those knives is they don’t look nice, though they certainly work great.
 
I have many kitchen knives, different styles and brands. The one I use most, and would choose if I could keep only one, is a Santoku.
 
I have been very happy with my knives from Kai's Wasabi line. That seems to be their low-cost line. Mercer makes some good lower-cost knives. I had a Victorinox 8" chef's knife which I liked just fine, but gave it away after I had used the Kai knives for a little bit.
 
Sarita said:
Hello everybody!

My boyfriend has his birthday in several weeks, and he really wants a chef's knife.
It's going to be his first one (I don't have any also).

Here are some that I found in my budget, would really like to get a feedback on them or a recommendation for something else.

The budget is around 70 usd (rather as less as possible because I want to get him something in addition and I don't work these days (students...))
Can order on Amazon if there's something that worth it.

I found:
1. Wusthof Gourmet 4188
2. F. Dick Superior Kullenschliff
3. F. Dick Premier Plus 7 inch chef's knife
4. Have heard recommendations about Tramontina knives. How are them?

Thanks so much!!
Click to expand...
Within your budget and available from Amazon, I'd suggest the Shun Sora 7" Santoku. Got one for my wife a few years ago, and it's holding up well. It uses a VG-10 steel which works quite well for a chef's knife in this price range.
 
If I could have only one kitchen knife, it would be my 7" Wusthof santoku 4183. The Wusthof can be found right now for $59.50.
 
The best I’ve found for the money spent are the Forschner / Victorinox chefs knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top